


A little faith

by spaceshipdear



Series: A Long Journey [1]
Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Explicit Language, F/M, Kidnapping, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-02
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-01-21 16:06:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1556216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceshipdear/pseuds/spaceshipdear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taking place right after the fall of Terminus. The prison group and their new allies got out of there. It's time for Daryl Dixon to tell Maggie what happened to her sister and to make the decision to try to find Beth or not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Out

**Author's Note:**

> That's my vision of what could happen after they finally escape from Terminus. I didn't want to explain how they did it because honestly I have no idea how they will go out of this, let me tell you they are pretty screwed! And it will also be of course my vision of Bethyl reunion! There's also going to be a lot Maggie and probably a bit of Rick as well. As they have very important roles to play in Bethyl IMO.
> 
> Please note that english is not my native language so there might be a LOT of typos and grammar errors. I've read it a billion times but yeah, I'm sure there're still a lot of them. Feel free to let me know if you spot some I'd happily correct them.
> 
> A have a few chapters already scripted but I am not sure how it will end yet or how long it will be. 
> 
> Anyway I hope you'll enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Out**

 

Leaves whipped Rick’s face. His leg’s muscles were tight, burning; he could feel the frantic beating of his heart in every vein of his body. But he kept running. Running with the rest of the group. They got out. They escaped. Rick’s told them to run. Run and never look back at what they did.

They’d barely stopped to catch their breath for hours. They needed to put as much distance between that place and them. Some had a hard time keeping up. Eugene. Carl. Glenn who’s been wounded.

During this mad rush, Carl tripped over some roots pretty badly. His face hitting the ground shut down his sudden scream. Michonne stopped immediately and ran towards him. 

“You okay? Carl you okay?”

“Yes… ye…”

He couldn't continue running, it was too much. He was gasping for air. They all stopped, dropping on the floor, bending over on the knees.

Rick stopped and went to his son, lying on the floor in his back with Michonne sitting on the side of him.

“Y’ok son?”

Carl nodded.

“Okay… ‘kay... We can rest. Let’s rest.”

Rick was out of breath like the others. He was looking around in the woods, his eyes moving like a mad man, making sure they weren’t followed or facing other threats.

Abraham agreed, “We should set camp. We’re far enough now. No way they could’ve followed us. They had too much on their plate with the herd attacking them.”

“We can’t know for sure, let’s find a safer place, we’re too exposed here.”

“I’ll go with you, let them rest.” Said Daryl, who was behind Rick.

Abraham gave Rick the rifle he sneaked out of Terminus a few hours ago. He knew Rick was their leader, he understood that, over the past few weeks trying to get out of Terminus. And he also came to realize it wasn’t a good idea to try and argue with him when he saw what he was capable of and how the others relied on him. This group was tight as a tick; they were willing to do anything for each other. They were good people. And they were strong. Abraham knew it would come in handy for Eugene and him on the road to Washington, so he tried his best to keep to himself and let Rick lead so he could gain his trust.

“I’ll watch guard here. Take the rifle with you.”

They were pretty low on weapons. Luckily they were able to retrieve Rick’s weapons’ bag outside of the fence, plus those they were able to take from the Hunters at Terminus during the fight. It wasn’t a lot, not enough for all of them, and they were low on ammunitions. Rick nodded in agreement and gave Daryl a quick tap on the shoulder. “Come on”. Daryl followed him after giving a look at the rest. 

Rick and Daryl had left for two hours when Rick came back to get them. They had found- not so far from them- some kind of cave under a big tree, a good spot to set camp for the night as the sun was starting to come down.

They all walked quietly, slowly. Very few words were exchanged. It was time to process what had happened to them this day and during the weeks they spent in Terminus. All of them had lived terrible events since the world went to shit but what they witnessed in Terminus, what people were capable of nowadays, they were not prepared for that. Not Maggie after she saw the blade of The Governor cut her father’s throat. Not even Rick after he ripped a man’s jugular to save his son. None of them could have imagined what human beings had now become. But they too, they were all different, they all changed. Not for the better, but for survival. And there was no time for pity or angst anymore. That’s what they had become and who they were now.

Some of them didn’t make it out of Terminus. Tara was gone. She saved Glenn one last time. Rosita, Bob, god knows what happened to them. They will mourn their dead later. If there’s time.

 

***

 

After a short night of rest in a dark corner of the forest they decided to move again. Get as far away as possible from Terminus. After a few days of looking for a suitable camp the group seemed to finally feel safe. At least safer than they had in weeks.

They found a house, kind of similar to Hershel’s farm, isolated, surrounded by thick woods. It wasn’t empty and after the usual walker clearing Daryl, Michonne and Rick came back out and told the others to come in.

Once everyone was set up in the house and the bodies put in the backyard, they looked for food. A few cans were left behind. Their luck seemed to be back when they found two gallons of water in the basement.

But food depravation was starting to be a problem as some of them needed to heal from injuries and others were too weak to fight or even run if that was needed.

Daryl decided to go on a hunt before the night set in. He took a small gun, a long hunting knife and Len’s bow and arrows they had stocked in the bag outside of Terminus that saved their life. He wasn’t as good with a bow as he was with his crossbow but he couldn’t have retrieved it during their escape of Terminus.

Outside the weather was getting warmer again. Winter was almost over and animals were venturing out, finding some food. It took Daryl quite some time to get used to the bow. It was heavy and he wasn’t sure what the right posture to get the better shots was. He had used a bow several times before, but it had been a long time since he went on a hunt with this type of weapon and he needed some adjusting. He tried to keep focused on the task here. He didn’t want to think of what happened since the prison had fallen. Especially not her. The pain and guilt were still too present in his chest. As soon as the first thought of her came to mind he couldn’t focus on anything else. He hadn't got much time to think of Beth over the past weeks. It was too important to get out, get his family to safety. But now, here alone in the woods, hunting, it’s all he had. His goddamn thoughts.


	2. She has a right to know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After running together from Terminus the prison family, with Abraham and Eugene, have found shelter in an abandoned house for now.
> 
> Rick tells Daryl it's time for him to tell Maggie about what happened to Beth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so there's a lot of Maggie in this. I just love her character, she's pretty much in my top 3 favorite characters of TWD (with Daryl and Rick) so I love writing her. And I think I'm looking forward for Beth's reunion with her as much as her reunion with Daryl.

**Chapter 2 : She has a right to know**

 

The sun had set for a few hours before Daryl returned to the house. He didn’t catch much, a few squirrels and snakes. They had a good number of mouths to feed, it clearly wasn’t enough but it was something.

Maggie had set a fire in the fireplace. It was not a very safe move but they needed to cook the meat and then put it down. Once he finished skinning his prey Daryl handed it over to her. Glenn was sitting on the couch, eyes closed, a hand on the side of his stomach where he was hurt. Daryl turned to Maggie as she started to put the pieces of meat on sticks.

“How is he?”

“He’s okay I think. We found some bandages and antiseptic cream. Hopefully it’ll help prevent an infection.”

Maggie seemed tired, worn out. She didn’t even try to hide the worry in her voice. Daryl softly told her he’d finish with the cooking.

“Go take care of Glenn. Get some rest.”

Rick had been looking over the both of them and as Maggie went to sit next to Glenn, he left the side of Carl and Michonne to kneel next to Daryl by the fire.

“Have you told her about Beth?”

Daryl stopped moving. He hasn’t heard her name in so long. He muffled a negative “hummm” along with a nod.

“She has a right to know.”

Daryl stared at the fire and he started biting his upper lip nervously. He knew Rick was right. He knew he needed to tell her sister what happened to Beth. But he wasn’t sure he would be able to say those words out loud.

“Yeah. I know”.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

Rick was able to read the pain in Daryl eyes. He put his hand on Daryl’s shoulder making him start in surprise for a second. It got him out of his thoughts and he turned his head toward Maggie. No it was not gonna be easy.

After everybody was fed with a bit of meat and can food, they all set up to sleep and decided on the watch schedule. All of them decided to stay in the living room which was rather large and could easily accept nine people. No need to be separated in case of an attack; they would all be close to make sure they could defend each other and run together if they were overcome.

Maggie took first watch and sat on the couch, closer to the main window in the living room. That way she didn’t have to leave Glenn’s side. He was awake now and the antiseptic cream seemed to have helped, he was able to get up earlier and eat a little. She took his hand in hers and blinked a few time trying to keep the tears in.

Daryl approached silently. He pulled a chair close to the sofa and looked at Maggie.

“What is it?”

“I… I got out of the prison with Beth.” He said almost in a whisper. 

Maggie opened her eyes widely in surprise and leaned forward to Daryl as she needed to get closer to hear him better. Daryl’s voice was weak and he coughed a bit to clear his throat.

“What? What do you mean? Where is she? Why- why wasn’t she with you then?”

“She got out of the bus to look for the kids. The bus was gone when she found me. And we ran. The place was fucking swamped with walkers, we had to leave.” He paused, looked at the floor. He knew this would hurt, telling Maggie, with her eyes locked on him looking for answers. He feared the moment when he would have to tell her she was gone because of him. Because of his recklessness.

“We were on the road together for a while. Weeks, maybe months. I dunno know how long exactly. And there was this house. This funeral home. It was stocked up with supplies and we stayed there for a couple o’days. And this mutt showed up at the door. She…” He paused again, his eyes drifting to the side. He remembered her smile when he mentioned the dog. How it brought a spark in her eye. But then the guilt and the anger of falling into this damn trap overcame him. He didn’t even notice how the emerging smile on his face faded into anger and pain. He locked his jaw and clenched it a couple of time before starting to speak again.

“The dog was a trap. It came back later that evening and a dozen walkers with it. I told Beth to run and wait for me up on the road and when I managed to get out she was gone.”

He stopped. The words were so hard to get out of his mouth. He was not the best communicator but this was another level of pain.

He hadn’t noticed that Rick and Carl had approached to hear this. Those who weren’t sleeping were also listening in the distance. It was too quiet and this was making it tenser, exposed, and harder for him to tell Maggie.

“What do you mean… ‘gone’?” Breathed out Maggie in shock.

That was the question Rick didn’t asked. At the time he felt it wasn’t necessary. It wouldn’t change anything and it would only bring more misery in Daryl’s eyes.

“A car took off when I arrived on the road. And her bag was on the floor. She struggled. She… I think she was taken. I’m not sure. I ran after the car. I tracked it for hours. And at a crossroad I didn’t know where to go. I… stopped. I didn’t know where she went.” His eyes were on the floor. Maggie was apathetic, trying to process Daryl’s words.

“She is alive,” she finally said her eyes fixed on her lap. “She wasn’t in the bus. I thought... I thought she had never gone out. I thought…”

The silence in the room was heavy. Daryl was looking at the floor, fearing to meet her gaze. Maggie put her hand on Daryl’s cheek and lifted his head to meet his eyes.

“She’s alive.” 

“Y’a don’t know that. S’been weeks.” 

“We need to find her.” Maggie stood up, her stare still locked on Daryl. “She’s out there. We need to find her.”

Her voice was strong and everyone was looking at her. Some wondering what was happening, others with pity in their eyes.

As Daryl stood up to face Maggie, Rick put his hand in front of her. He saw how Daryl reacted and he knew Maggie’s words had change something and he could feel the hope regaining him.

“Hold on hold on. How do you want to do that? How would you even know where to start looking?” 

Daryl cut Maggie short, “I know where this funeral home is. I know where I stopped tracking.”

Maggie started pacing up and down in the living room. “We need a map.” She looked at Daryl filled with hope, her eyes wide. “We should look for a car in the morning and go out there.” 

“Maggie, Maggie,” Rick tried to reason with her. “We’re all too weak and we need to make sure we are safe. And she’s probably…”

Rick stopped, looking at her, the belief of this possibility to be reunited with her sister was blurring her judgment. He needed her to understand that Beth might not be alive anymore. 

“No! She’s alive! I know it! I knew for Glenn and I found him!” She screamed pointing her finger at Glenn, still sitting the couch with fear drawn all over his face. “We have to try! We have to try. It’s my sister. It’s… She’s family! I need to find her. For daddy… For Judith.”

She was on edge but she chose her words carefully. The name of Judith hit Rick in the guts. He still wasn’t ready to hear her name. Michonne came closer and put her hand on Rick’s arm as a reminder to stay here with them and not go there, in the dark place of his mind. Carl backed up a little bit and let Michonne be there for his dad.

All this time Daryl was silent. After running in Joe’s group, after their fight to save themselves from those people, after Terminus, he had lost all hopes to see Beth again. To make up for his mistake. To save her. But Maggie’s determination reminded him so much of Beth. How she was certain all the others got out of the prison while he was convinced he would never see them again. But here they were, almost all of his family together again. Beth’s words echoed in his head.

_Wouldn’t kill you have a little faith._

Last time he had faith it almost killed him. Looking for Sofia in the woods for days. He hadn’t been able to find her. She was dead. And it hurt. When he saw her coming out of the barn it was probably the first time he felt that deep soreness in his chest, the pain of his loss, Carol’s, and of his inability to find her.

_Pretty soon I won't need you at all._

But he needed her. Her smile. Her big blue eyes filled with hope. How could he have lost hope to find her? How could he have done that to her?

Daryl finally opened his mouth, and calmly said: “We’ll find a map and a car. I can go look for that in the morning with Maggie. Nobody needs to come with us if they don’t want to. We can stay here for a few days. Maybe more, who knows.”

Maggie was shocked and relieved; she took a deep breath, feeling like she had stopped breathing when Daryl started talking about her sister.

Glenn stood up with difficulties, holding his side, “Are you sure?” He looked at both Daryl and Maggie. “I mean… I know you don’t want to hear it but we can’t know for sure if she’s still alive. It might be hopeless.”

Maggie gave him a hard look although she understood it was his way to worry for her. He probably didn’t want to see her leave after what they went through to find each other.

“Beth taught me lots of things when we were together. But the most important one was that you shouldn’t give up on people. Won’t kill us to have a little faith. We need to look for her.”

“We need to _find_ her.” Maggie said finally.


	3. On the road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they're on the road looking for Beth, Daryl and Maggie start bonding over the memories for her.

**Chapter 3: On the road**

The morning after, Maggie and Daryl geared up to go find a map and a ride. Everyone was worried but they were still determined to do it. Michonne decided to go with them to help find supplies for the group. The others stayed to secure the place since they were visited by a few walkers that night and had to kill a few before the sun was up. Rick wanted to stay for his son at all costs and Abraham wouldn’t leave the side of Eugene. Sasha was strong and Carl knew how to defend himself now. It was enough to keep the walkers away, as long as there weren’t too many of them.

Before they took off, Sasha approached Maggie.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Are you sure you want to have this conversation again?” Answered Maggie with a smirk on her face referring to their journey to find Glenn.

Sasha smiled and looked at her with concern.

“Don’t get your hopes too high Maggie. The odds are…”

“I know,” She nodded to comfort her friend. “I know but I have to try. Keep an eye on him would you?” She glanced at Glenn leaning on the porch where she left him after giving him a goodbye kiss.

“I will,” Sasha turned her head to Daryl, “Hey Dixon! Keep her safe out there!” as she looked at Maggie with tangible anxiety.

Daryl nodded and murmured “I will.”

  
The three of them came back in the afternoon with a car, two jerry cans of gasoline and what they could find of food, water and medical supplies.

They hadn’t found a map, but luckily Carl who went through every drawer and cupboard in the house victoriously handed Daryl the map he put his hands on earlier.

Maggie, Daryl, Michonne and Rick spent most of the evening studying it. Daryl was sure where the funeral home was and almost certain where he stopped running that day. Where they were right now was kind of a blur.

“You need to go out for recon tomorrow. Drive around and establish our position.” Rick wasn’t including himself in this. The area was risky with the number of walkers coming through those woods. He couldn’t risk having too many of them outside.

***

The sun wasn’t up yet when Daryl woke up in a start. He was sleeping in the kitchen, away from the rest of the group. He had never been very comfortable around people although everything was different now. Those people trusted him, relied on him and he could do the same. He was a loner but he wasn’t lonely anymore.  
He moved to the kitchen the day before because he woke up in the middle of the night with Maggie’s hands on his shoulders, shaking him. He was apparently calling Beth’s name in his sleep. He had been dreaming of her a lot lately. Nightmares, not dreams. He saw her, dead, turned into a walker and he was forced to put a knife in her head, just like he did for Merle. He didn’t want for Maggie to hear him scream out in terror for her sister in his sleep.

It was their fourth ride outside looking for Beth. They set up another perimeter to scout and it was time for the usual goodbyes and requests for supplies. But this morning the air was heavy around them. The outside of this house wasn’t so safe after all. Michonne and Abraham had spent most of the night clearing the area around the house for walkers. They had to have at least three people on watch every night and all day long. They were close to an average sized town, which meant a lot of walkers wandering around. They were clearly vulnerable but they had to stay a little longer to make sure everyone was healing completely.

Maggie took the wheel and Daryl came in next to her in the car.

He really missed his bike. Riding alone, feeling the wind in his face. But he knew he wasn’t allowed to complain. He was actually one of the luckiest men alive right now, being with his friends, his family. It was some kind of miracle they finally got reunited. And he really hoped for one more miracle to happen.

“Daryl…” Maggie started, hesitating.

“Hum humm?”

“What happened while you were on the road with her?”

“What d’ya mean?” Daryl was confused; he told her what happened and couldn’t imagine what else she needed to know.

“When you got out of the prison. What happened after that?”

“Told you all that.”

“I mean between you and her. I can see something’s changed. I know we’ve gone through some shit. But you… you somehow look… different. You talk about hope and trust. And I don’t know but I think, well, my sister… I don’t know. I’m sorry. I know you don’t like to share that stuff.”

She shook her head while he was looking at her intensely. Were those Greene girls some kind of damn psychics? They can scan your brain and make you spit all your feelings out. Although Maggie’s way was different. Beth would confront you, attack you almost, bring all your shit to your face for you to realize what’s behind your wall of anger.

“She’s a hell of a girl your littl’ sister.”

Maggie looked a bit surprised at that statement. She wasn’t expecting Daryl to speak at all. She thought he was going to stay silent for the whole ride after she tried to make him talk about Beth.

“She made me realize some things, ‘bout me, ‘bout my past and ‘bout who I’m now. She’s damn stubborn too.” A small chuckle came out of his mouth and he was smiling while scratching his beard.  
“She wanted a drink. Booze. Said she never had one. I though’ she was such a pain in the ass then. Obsessed with getting her hand on a damn drink. But I guess it was her way to do something. Something to look for an’ not just surviving in the woods eating snakes with a half nasty, mute redneck.”

Maggie’s eyes were fixed on the road, listening to every word coming out of Daryl’s mouth, afraid to distract him by looking at him or asking question in case he’d stop talking.

“I brought her to a moonshine cabin. Like the ones my dad use ta live in, and she got her first drink. We got drunk. And we fought ‘cause am an asshole. We yelled at each other out of our fuckin’ minds. She made me… she made me say things out loud I never wanted to hear myself saying. In her way, she forgave me for not being able to save you father.”

Maggie turned her head to him, tears at the edge of her eyes. Daryl paused and looked at her briefly. He knew Maggie probably hadn’t got the time to mourn Hershel yet. And she probably hadn’t spoken or heard about him since they were held in that wagon in Terminus.

“We burnt the moonshine cabin down. Was her idea. It was glorious. I think… I think we felt alive for the first time since we left the prison. Then I started teaching her how to track, how to shoot with my crossbow. At the funeral home I really believed we could’ve stayed there, try to make some kind of a life there. Maybe she’d have convinced me to look for you guys later, when we were sure it was a safe place for us. I was ready to give up on everyone. I though’ you were all dead. She… she had so much hope.”

He stopped. That was the longest Maggie ever heard him speak. His voice was calm and steady, almost reassuring if he hadn’t been speaking about her lost sister. She wanted to cry and scream about how she missed her but she couldn’t do that. Not now. She had to be strong and keep her head up. For Beth and for Daryl. She had convinced him they would find her; she didn’t want him to see how terrified she was they never would.

Daryl rested his head on the car window looking outside with his fingers touching the beard on his chin. “She’s a one-of-a-kind y’know. Never met someone like her.”

The rest of the ride ended in silence. Maggie wasn’t sure she really understood what really happened between them. She was even more confused with Daryl’s feelings for her sister. The only thing she knew was that she wasn’t the only one willing to do everything she could to find Beth.

***

They got back that day empty handed. No signs of Beth. As they came through the narrow road leading to the house they looked in horror at all the walkers coming toward them. There were at least a dozen of them on the road and some more surrounding the house. Daryl yelled at Maggie to hurry and drive closer so he could jump out of the car to help the others get rid of the mass of walkers.  
Maggie got Carl, Eugene and Glenn to safety in the car. The rest of them jumped in the pick-up truck they brought back a few days ago with the supplies they had time to collect from inside the house. The herd was too big; they didn’t stand a chance against them. They left their temporary house. None of them really felt safe in that place anyway. It was both a relief and painful to leave, as they knew days of wandering were ahead of them.

Daryl was on the back of the pickup truck. After the rush of adrenaline from the fight and their escape, only anger was left in him. Both for having been away from his family when it could have taken a very bad turn, and mostly because he knew that now Maggie and him wouldn’t have the luxury of searching for Beth as thoroughly as they could have. On the road they wouldn’t really have time for that. Only time to survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I'm taking my time with this story, things are slow, but fear not next chapter will be quite exciting (well I hope).
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you think!!


	4. Not yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boxcar group left the house where they found shelter after a herd of walkers attacked it. They are on the road and Daryl and Maggie had to stop looking for Beth momentarily.
> 
> But what if Abraham can talk Rick into going to Washington?

**Chapter 4: Not yet**

After a few days of driving north they had to stop the vehicles. The pick-up’s gas tank was finally empty and they had used all their gasoline stocks. They hadn’t come across cars with gas left in a while. It was harder and harder nowadays to get your hands on fuel; most of the abandoned vehicles had already been scavenged by other survivors long ago.  
They all got out of the cars. Abraham, who was driving the truck, slammed the door close.

“It’s dry. This old lady ain’t got no juice left.”

Rick looked at the group. They all seemed tired from the long hours of driving, but Glenn was in much better shape and they appeared to be stronger than a few weeks ago after they fled Terminus.

“Let set camp in the woods. We’ll look for gas in the morning.”

Daryl knew they wouldn’t find any gas in the area, it was too isolated. Rick caught his worried gaze and nodded. He was trying to keep their hopes high and Daryl got it. For now they should establish camp.

Later that night Michonne, Daryl and Rick went a little further away from their makeshift camp to try and make a plan for their next move. Abraham noticed them leaving and decided to follow. Before they were even able to start talking the redhead emerged from the dark.

“I think we need to keep North, go to Washington.”

The three of them stared at him. Daryl was the first to talk.

“No way. No way we stop lookin’ for Beth.”

“C’me on man! You really think you can find a helpless teenage girl that was abducted by some psycho weeks ago? She’s dead at best!”

Daryl came rapidly at Abraham’s face to defy him.

“You have no fuckin’ idea who you’re talkin’ ‘bout”.

Both Abraham and Daryl were standing up straight, facing each other with their foreheads almost touching; ready to take the first hit. The fury in Daryl’s eyes was familiar. Too familiar to his friends, they knew what this look meant.  
Michonne got closer to Daryl, without touching him, with a calming voice.

“Daryl, come on. It’s not worth a fight.”

Daryl took a deep breath and moved away. She was right. The douchebag didn’t deserve his anger. He needed to keep all his energy to protect his people and find her.

Michonne touched his arm, as he seemed to have calmed down and she nodded to the camp. They headed back while Rick stayed with Abraham.

“That was stupid.”

“Yeah, yeah, maybe.”

“You have no idea what he could’ve done to you.”

“Well am twice as big as him so am not sure he’ll be all manly man after me beating his sorry ass.”

“You clearly don’t know Daryl Dixon…” Rick smirk at Abraham. “Okay, speak your piece now.”

“So you’re willing to put an end to this moronic search for the girl?”

“No, not yet.” Rick knew he wouldn’t be able to reason with Daryl, let alone Maggie. And he didn’t want the group to split and risk them going away to search on their own. It was safer to stay together.

“Everyone has a goal. A mission. Yours is to take Eugene to Washington. I get it.”

“You have no idea how important this is damn it! I know he can save us, save this world!” Abraham was impatient; he was frustrated that no one seemed to take this mission seriously. It was even harder now that Rosita was gone. He felt helpless in front of these people and he hated the feeling.

“Okay. Okay. Let’s keep our heads clear now.” Rick was trying to cool things down with this man. “What if I give you weapons and enough supplies for a week? You two can hit the road to DC together.”

“Me and Eugene, alone? On the road? Are you nuts?! It’s suicide! I can’t risk his life, he’s too valuable.”

“Man, I can’t do that to them. We need more time. That’s their mission, our mission. They still have hope, that’s how we keep people alive now. And this shitty world ain’t goin’ anywhere. It’ll still need saving in a few weeks. We have to try to find her.”

“It’s the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard. Can’t you hear yerself here for a minute?!”

“That’s my decision. Let me remind you, you are guests here. We could have let you go your way after we left Terminus. Don’t make me regret it. You want our help? You’ll have to play by our rules.”

“We’ve helped Glenn. We’ve helped you out of that shithole. Rosita died for that. You owe us!”

“I don’t owe anybody anything. That was your choice. You had an agenda in helping Glenn. You clearly had one when you decided to stay with us so you’re gonna have to respect this group decisions.”

Abraham was infuriated on the inside. But Rick was right. He needed them, to help and protect Eugene. He couldn’t have their leader against him or they would be fucked. Or worse. They were good people but they undoubtedly were capable of anything to keep each other safe.

“Alright. Alright. We’ll talk about that when they find the girl I guess.” Abraham concluded, his voice dripping with bitterness as he returned to the camp.

***

The sun wasn’t fully up yet, the weak light of the morning was just beginning to leak between the trees. Carl woke up slowly and moved to sit next to his father at the edge of the camp.

“Did you sleep?”

“Yes. I took over Michonne’s shift an hour ago.”

“Dad… Are we going to Washington?”

“Not yet.”

“Good. I think we should keep looking.”

Carl missed Beth, probably more than he would have imagined. She had been Judith’s keeper, almost a mother figure to his little sister. He knew Judith wasn’t with her and finding Beth wouldn’t bring her back. But he wanted to see Beth again, to get some closure for his sister’s death in a way.

Daryl was sitting by a tree on the other side of the camp but he could hear the conversation. He was relieved Rick didn’t agree with Abraham. And he was glad to hear Carl hoping to find Beth. The past few days he started to doubt their chances and people reminding him it was a possibility was giving him hope again.

That’s when they all heard a noise far-off. Some kind of animal, or even person. Daryl wasn’t sure what he heard. Carl stood up quickly, took his knife out of its case. And the noise came back. Stronger. Maybe closer. They didn’t know where it was coming from or what it was.

Carl started running in its direction. It was so sudden it caught Rick by surprise as he was scanning the woods for a sign. He ran after his son, Daryl right behind him.

Carl was fast but Rick finally caught his son by the waist and almost tackled him down onto the ground. As they were lying on the ground, they could hear people talking very close to them and they were too exposed to stand up. Daryl was just a few yards away hiding behind a tree with a rifle in hands, ready to fire.

That’s when the cries started again. Perfectly recognizable now that is was close.  
Carl murmured to his father “It’s a baby.”

Rick put a finger on his lips to tell Carl to keep quiet. He made a hand sign to Daryl to move to the side so he could circle the group of people they were hearing. He and Carl started crawling to go find cover. They were hiding behind a large fallen trunk, their heads down when Rick felt a cold piece of metal on his forehead. Whoever caught them was very quiet and he didn’t hear them coming. He started breathing nervously and clenched his jaw. He couldn’t lift his head to look at his assailant as the weapon was pressing on his temple. It was bigger and heavier than a gun.  
Rick started lifting his hands off the ground as a sign of cooperation when he heard a steady feminine voice: “Don’t even move a muscle.”

On the other side of a tree Daryl didn’t have a clear view of the scene and got his weapon ready to fire. But his whole body became stiff when he heard Maggie’s voice screaming “BETH!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah so I leave you with a cliffhanger... I love cliffhangers. 
> 
> It was a short one and the next chapter is already written so I'll be posting it soon, probably this weekend, so I won't let you hanging too long. I hope you liked it!


	5. You found me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they hear a baby crying in the distance, Carl, Rick and Daryl run after it. Only to find someone else...

**Chapter 5: You found me**

Rick still had the crossbow pressed on his temple when he heard Maggie screaming Beth’s name and he turned his head to see who was coming. Maggie along with Glenn and Sasha were running right toward them.

The three of them decided to carefully follow Rick and Daryl when they ran out after Carl, leaving the others to protect the camp. When they came closer Maggie saw the willowy figure in the light of the morning, pointing her weapon at Rick. She felt her heart jump out of her chest when she heard her voice. She had never run that fast in her life.

Beth took three steps back at Maggie’s scream. She dropped her crossbow on the ground and stood there, eyes wide open, she wasn’t sure this was real or one of the dreams she had a thousand times. Rick and Carl got up slowly. The surprise on Rick’s face was tangible while Carl was smiling so strongly he could feel tears coming out of his eyes.

Maggie came through the father and son and almost knocked down Beth as she reached her. They both felt on their knees and Beth started crying almost as hysterically as her sister. Maggie was embracing her so hard she almost wasn’t able to breathe. “Beth, oh Beth!”

They couldn’t speak real words, just sobs and laughter mixed together.

A strong male figure emerged from behind Beth and Sasha gasped as she felt her legs breaking under her weight. She pulled it together and went to meet Tyreese half way. They looked at each other for a few seconds before he held her tight as she cried silently. He turned his head and shouted “Carol, come here! Come here, you have to see this!”

Rick lifted his eyebrows in surprise when he heard Carol’s name. And when he saw her with a baby in her arm with a sweet maternal smile on her face, his legs dropped and he fell to the ground. Knocked down by the sight of his daughter, alive. Carl went running to Carol taking Judith out of her arms, crying with joy, “Judith! Judith! Dad! It was her I knew it was!” Rick followed him and took Judith to hold her above his head. “Oh God…” He looked at his daughter’s face like she was a miracle. He finally gave Carol a gaze filled with gratitude. She answered with a smile while hugging Carl.

Beth and Maggie were still gripping each other and sobbing. Glenn got closer and put a gentle kiss on Beth’s forehead. She reached for his hand and squeezed it hard. She turned to the Grimes family, reunited, and that’s when she saw him.

Daryl was standing a few feet away, right in front of her, hands still holding tight on the rifle facing the ground. He stood there this whole time looking at the scene taking place in front of his eyes as if it wasn’t really happening.

Beth gasped for air at the sight and started running towards him. His eyes were locked on her this whole time and she stopped right in front of him, tiptoes of their boots touching each other. She put her hand on his forearm. The warmth of her skin on his was the most comforting touch he had felt in weeks.

“You found me. I knew you would.”

He dropped the rifle on the ground and cupped her face in his hands as tears were flooding silently on her cheeks.

“Yeah.”

The moment was suspended in time. Nothing else mattered to both of them, just the joy and the gentle touch of Daryl’s hands on her face. They were alive and finally together again. But the instant was cut short when Tyreese screamed “Walkers!”.

Daryl quickly took his knife out of its case and didn’t see Beth running back and jumping above the fallen trunk to get her crossbow back.

Four walkers were coming towards the group with their dreadful moans and smell. Daryl jumped at the closest one and put his knife through its eye socket, splashing blood and brain all over his hand. An arrow flew next to his ear and stuck right in the forehead of the other walker getting dangerously close to him. As the dead bodies dropped to the ground, Daryl turned his head and saw Beth already charging another arrow onto her crossbow. Tyreese was killing the third walker with his hammer and Beth put a final end to the attack by shooting the last walker with another arrow.

They stayed, panting to catch their breath, most of them gazing at Beth standing strongly on her two feet. Maggie didn’t have time to react, her mouth open in surprise.

Daryl was facing Beth; her eyes were scanning the woods to make sure no other walkers were coming. Their screams and cries were way too loud and probably attracted those walkers; more would certainly follow. When she met Daryl’s gaze, he could swear he’d never seen such darkness in her eyes. Her look was hardened, like she wasn’t out of the attack yet. She snapped out of it when she noticed Daryl’s intense stare and went to collect her arrows.

Carol finally spoke up “We have to leave or more will come. We have a safe place. It’s close by.”

Sasha and Tyreese went seeking the rest of the group and their supplies. They left their fuelled car temporarily, and would retrieve it when they were settled.

Once they were all together and introductions were made with the new members of the group, Beth said “This way” and led the way, her crossbow resting across her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally the reunion we've all been expecting!  
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think ;)


	6. We're here now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Prison Family is finally reunited and they need to know what happened.

**Chapter 6: We’re here now**

They arrived at a red-brick building. Maggie walked next to Beth, holding her hand the whole time. Daryl walked right behind them in silence.

During their walk, Carol told them how Beth found them a few weeks ago. They were very close to Terminus and decided to spend the night outside and wait till the morning to have a better view of the place. But during that night they heard gunshots, screams- a pretty big fight was happening in there. Walkers started crawling around Terminus and they decided it was too dangerous for Judith and left.  
They all came to the conclusion it was the fight from the prison group’s escape. And they were thankful it had happened before Carol and her group entered Terminus. Who knows what they could have done to Judith. Rick quickly summarized their escape, explaining the people at Terminus were most likely cannibals. Beth squeezed Maggie’s hand. She had seen terrible things done by the living… but eating your own kind? Was that what was left of humanity? Nowadays she was more terrified of the living than the dead.

After they ran away from Terminus, they finally found a car and they drove as far away as they could until coming across this building only a few days ago. It wasn’t very comfortable, but Beth and Tyreese secured it pretty well and it was a good shelter for Judith as the walls were thick and you couldn’t hear much noise from outside.

The building appeared to be an office supplies warehouse. It was stocked with boxes of paper, pencils and computer hardware. It had multiple entries. Tyreese moved the heavy boxes, pilling them to block the doors from the inside. Only the main entrance was accessible, secured with heavy chains and a lock. They also made sure to keep a backdoor hatchway available. It was high enough on the wall to be unreachable for walkers from outside but they could climb on boxes and jump out if they needed another exit.  
Rick put his hand on Tyreese’s shoulder while Beth was closing the door behind them.

“You did a great job here. Looks secure.”

Tyreese smiled lightly and nodded in Beth’s direction. “I did the heavy lifting but really it was her idea.”

Rick looked at Beth while Tyreese returned to his sister. She wasn’t the same girl that took care of his daughter back at the prison. Her posture was more confident. And the way she handled the walkers earlier… He was both glad to see her stronger and saddened, as she likely had to lose some of her innocence in the process.

Beth smiled at Rick - she still had this beautiful happy smile that could comfort anyone around her - and walked toward Daryl. He was sitting on a desk in a corner of the warehouse cleaning his knife with a rag he found on the ground.

“Hey.” She said while she sat next to him in a small and quick jump.

He turned his head to her, planting his narrowed eyes at hers. In the past, this made her quite uncomfortable because she was never sure what was on his mind. But not anymore. Since the moonshine cabin and the funeral home she had somehow decrypted this look.

“So where d’you get the crossbow?”

“I found it in a hunting cabin with a bunch of knives and rifles. I couldn’t carry them all. So I took the knives and the crossbow. I’m actually better at it than a rifle.”

Daryl smiled.

“It took me a little while to get used to it. It’s different than yours. But lighter. Which is good ‘cause I don’t have very strong arms.”

“Yeah you don’t.” He answered in a chuckle.

“Yeah well, I’m good at it anyway!” She pretended to be offended by his remark to tease him, giving a soft kick to his calf with her foot. This whole conversation was feeling way too familiar, like they hadn’t been apart for weeks.

“You are.”

The sound of the arrow passing next to his ear came back to him.

“I lost my crossbow. The nut jobs in Terminus took it. Had no time to find it when we escaped.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” She said that as he’d lost his pet and felt suddenly awkward about it. She always knew Daryl with his crossbow and wasn’t really able to picture him with another weapon. “Do you… I can give you mine if you want.”

“No,” He immediately answered with surprise. “No it’s yours. And… you look better with it than me.”

He looked down at the crossbow resting on the desk next to Beth’s leg and remembered her a few hours earlier while she was shooting at their attackers. He had to admit he felt a little bit of pride knowing he was the one that taught her how to use it in the first place. But this thought was soon overcome by the fact that she probably had to learn to defend herself on her own. He wasn’t ready to ask yet. It was too soon. She needed to reconnect with her sister, her family, with him. And Daryl wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what happened to her. He had failed her. He let his guard down and fell in this stupid trap.

They sat in silence for a few minute after that, looking at the others getting to know each other, Abraham explaining who Eugene was and why they needed to go to Washington.

“I stopped looking for you that day.”

Beth remained silent, fixing her gaze at the floor. He was looking at her.

“I ran for hours after the car. At this crossing, I didn’t know what road to follow. I stopped. Am… am sorry Beth.”

His eyes were so intense she felt tears rushing but didn’t want them to go out. She didn’t want Daryl to feel guilty. Of course, of course, she imagined he would come and save her. All that time she hoped he would find her. But at some point she had to face the truth. It would have been impossible and she was at peace with that. Her tears would only upset him and make him feel more responsible for what happened to her.

She finally said quietly: “Doesn’t matter. We’re here now.”

And another silence settled. For now it was all they could say to each other. The conversation wasn’t finished. He still felt guilty as though he had hurt her himself. And Beth was desperate to put everything behind her and make him understand it wasn’t his fault. This would take time.

“So what about that big dude and Washington, huh? Do you think he really knows how to save the world?”

“Sounds like a Bruce Willis movie to me. Too good to be true.”

***

Beth was sleeping with Judith curled up right there next to her. Carol came to wake her up in the middle of the night by touching her arm softly: “Hey honey…”  
There were more people to look after her of course but both of them still continue with their routine. Habits were a hard thing to lose. Beth rubbed her sleepy eyes and let Carol take her place next to Judith.

She stretched her back and arms. The floor was hard as a rock. She was kind of used to it by now, after running for so long. But she would kill to get her stiff bed from the prison back.

She spotted Daryl and Maggie sitting on the floor next to the few candles they lit up. They were facing each other, talking quietly and Maggie had a smile on her face. It gave her so much comfort.  
She sat next to Daryl. Maggie leaned her head to the side while looking at her little sister in the candlelight. She was such a sight for sore eyes.

“We looked for you for days after we escaped from Terminus. Daryl told me you were taken and… I was sure you were alive.”

“I looked too. Once I got out it was all that mattered to me. Survive, and find you Daryl Dixon.” She turned her head to him. He was looking to the floor but she could tell he was listening carefully.

“But then I found Judith. And I stopped looking. I had to stop because she needed protection more than I needed to find you. Just like you had to survive. And you started to look again for me when it was the right time.”

That was her way to make Daryl understand she wasn’t angry with him or sad he had stopped looking.  
Maggie realized it was an important moment for the two of them and she didn’t want to interrupt it. But she needed to know what happened to her sister. How did she turn the way she was in such a short time? Daryl broke their silence and Maggie’s inner turmoil as he finally asked Beth.

“What happened Beth? What happened to you?”

The blonde sighted with a little pain in her chest and looked at Maggie. Her eyes were filled with sadness and questions. She hadn’t talked about her abduction to anyone yet. Not even Carol. The wounds were still too fresh and she was scared she’d break into pieces if she told anyone. But now was the time. Maybe it would help her heal.

“I ran like you told me. And when I arrived on the road I turned around to see if I could see you coming. I was terrified. And I felt a blow on the back of my head. I lost my balance, I was still conscious and someone was trying to drag me away. I tried to fight back but I got knocked unconscious for good…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now be ready for a couple, maybe more, chapters in Beth's POV. I really didn't plan on writing so much about her abduction but I got carried away. It still needs some editing so I probably won't be posting until next week.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm taking it slow but that's how I imagine it. I don't think they will be jumping on each others arms too soon. And I like to involve other characters into the mix because I think it's very important for them.
> 
> Let me know what you thought of it :)


	7. Helena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth starts telling her story to Maggie and Daryl, what happened right after she got abducted. Beth's first person POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be ready for a few gloomy chapters. Be warned there will be some physical violence and probably sexual too. I didn't change the rating of the fic as I don't think it's too chocking, but let me know if you think otherwise.
> 
> I love to hear from you so please feel free to leave comments <3 Thank you for reading!
> 
> Also good news, I have a proofreader now. **Thank you to Celesseh** for kindly offering to edit my chapters before I post them. You're my new own personal superhero!

**Chapter 7 : Helena**

I woke up with a dreadful pain on the back of my head. I tried to reach out to touch if I was bleeding but my hands were tied up.

It appeared I was in the trunk of a car. It was still very dark, the sun didn’t seem to be up yet, and I had no idea how long I remained unconscious. That’s when it all came back to me. Daryl. The funeral home. The walkers. And I suddenly felt a terrible anger in my chest, not knowing what happened to me, feeling so completely helpless. A wave of panic hit my stomach at the thought of Daryl. I had no way of knowing what happened to him. I just couldn’t imagine how he reacted when he didn’t see me at our meeting point. Or if he even survived the walkers’ attack. The knot forming in my throat made me gasp with a cry.

I started screaming while I kicked the trunk to try and open it. It was stupid; my ankle was still hurting me. My whole body shivered in pain.

I just lay there sobbing, helpless.

After some time the car stopped. The trunk was big enough for me to move around a bit and I arranged myself so I would be able to face my abductor. I heard him pacing around the car. I think he was talking to himself or maybe to someone else but I could only hear one voice; it was probably just him.

He finally opened the trunk and I kicked my legs at his stomach. It took him by surprise and he stumbled a little but it didn’t destabilize him enough to fall. He grabbed my injured ankle and cursed and screamed at me to shut up. He dragged me out of the car and I fell hard on the ground with a scream of pain and fear.

I tried to fight back as much as I could; my hands were tied down and I having a very hard time handling the throbbing pain in my ankle. He grabbed my ponytail and dragged me to the ground again; he put me back into the trunk mumbling barely understandable insults.

The driver’s door closed violently and the car took off. I think we did a U turn but it was impossible for me to know which direction we were heading. I was completely lost. It was over. Daryl would never find me. I’d probably die tonight. Or worse.

After several hours, the car stopped again. I waited for him to come back and collect me from the trunk, but nobody showed up for a few more hours. It was complete silence outside and I didn’t know what else to do but wait for him to come back and not let me rot in the heat of his trunk.

I finally heard footsteps coming and the trunk opened. I decided not to move. Trying to fight him back was useless and I was hurting myself more than I already was. The sun was up for a while now, and I finally saw what he looked like. He had one of those faces where it was impossible to give him an age. He was tall and thin but seemed muscular under his sweater and jacket. He was holding a rifle this time. His forehead was starting to show sign of baldness and his eyes were dark, almost black. He looked at me with hatred for a moment, before putting a hand under my armpit and lifting me out of the trunk. Once on the ground, I could barely walk and he dragged me as best as he could to a wooden cabin a few yards away.

We were in the middle of the woods, I couldn’t see the road. We passed two bodies on the ground near the cabin’s stairs. I couldn’t see if they were walkers or living people he had killed.

During our way to the cabin he was talking out loud. He seemed really irritated like I was getting on his nerves and he was addressing me like we knew each other, although I was certain I had never met this man in life.

“You always have to fight me when I bring you back. Y’don’t fucking understand that you shouldn’t be out there alone. S’not safe damn it. You never learn. Never learn. I’ll have to teach you again. I hate that you know? I _hate_ that! You’re forcing me.”

Inside the house, he took me to a bedroom and threw me on the dusty and stained bed. He pulled a rope to tie my wrists together on the headboard.

“Stop moving damn it! You’re gonna hurt yourself you stupid bitch!”

Once firmly attached, he looked at me in silence for a few minutes.

“You’re beautiful y’know. Even when you’re mad. Lucky for you, you’re beautiful Helena.”

The door slammed shut behind me and I stayed on the bed curled up in a ball trying to understand what was happening to me.

This man had obviously lost his mind and was mistaking me for someone else. His wife? His daughter? What was he going to do with me? I guess if he had wanted to kill or rape me he would have done it long ago. Well, I hoped so.

He returned later and silently began to heal my wounds. At the touch of his hands I struggled again and he slapped me in the face.

“Look at what you’re forcing me to do. Stop fighting me. I wanna help.”

That’s when I broke my silence, filled with rage.

“Let me go! I don’t know you! What do you want from me?! You fuckin’ let me go!!”

Tears were coming out of my eyes, I didn’t want to cry but the fear and anger was too strong in my chest and I wasn’t able to stop myself. My cry soon changed into a sob while he was holding my shoulders strongly to stop me from struggling.

“Please let me go… please! I don’t know who you are! Please…”

I was terrified; begging, crying. I felt weak and powerless. Suddenly his face softened and I think I saw compassion filling his eyes.

“Hush now. I know you’re scared. I know.”

He started stroking my hair, putting some locks behind my ears. I tried to move away from his hands, they were disgusting me. I hated feeling them on my forehead, on my face that he was trying to caress. He leaned on me and forced a kiss on my cheek, and another one. I put my entire strength in trying to get away from him. It was pointless and I hurt my wrists even more. Blood was starting to flow slowly under the burn of the ties.

The next two days were the same. He would come in the morning with water and a bit of food. He would take care of my wounds while I was crying, begging or fighting him with rage. I practically didn’t see him during the day until the sun was starting to set and he would return with food. Sometimes he sat at the end of the bed and looked at me for a long while. I would curl up on myself like a scared animal in a cage. Sometimes he would talk to me, tell me about "our" life before the walkers.

That’s when I realized he was completely mad. His wife, Helena, must have died. I had no idea if I looked like her or if just being a woman was enough for him to think I was her. As I understood he was a violent husband, he would often apologize for beating her. For beating me.

After a few days, I tried something else by evening. I started talking to him, asking questions, as calmly as I could manage.

“Why did you kidnap me back at the funeral home?”

He seemed genuinely surprised.

“Kidnapped you? No Helena, I rescued you.”

“From the walkers?” He looked at me questioningly. “The… dead that were attacking the house?”

“Oh no, those were for him. So they’d kill him and I could save you.”

So it was a trap. The dog. It was a trap to get Daryl away from me. Oh God I hoped he wasn’t dead. I felt myself losing control of my breath and tears coming of my eyes but I had to pull it together. I needed to understand what he wanted from me. What he had planned for me.

“Helena, you know I wanna protect you, right? You have to stop this nonsense. You’re just hurting yourself.”

“I…” I wasn’t sure what to say. I wasn’t sure if playing his game would help me. But it was my only option at the moment. “I know. I’m sorry.”

I didn’t want to push it too far. Taking it slow was probably the key to my salvation. And I guess it was the right move as I saw his face softening and he came closer to me to caress my hair and my cheeks.

“Good. That’s better.”

I felt his lips pressing against mine and I had to fight every muscle in my body not to move, not to scream. I wanted him to stop but he forced open my mouth to stick his tongue in. I felt sick, I wanted to throw up. He finally murmured in my ear “That’s a good girl.” He petted my head like a dog and left the room, locking it behind him.

I took a deep breath and tears flooded out of my eyes. I felt so disgusting, feeling his lips against mine, his filthy tongue in my mouth. I took a sip of water from the dirty metal jar he had put on the bedside table and it took all I had not to puke.

After calming down I realized that this was probably my way out. My only chance. Playing along with him and making him trust me might be how I would be able to survive this.


	8. Maybe tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth continues telling her story to Maggie and Daryl. She is still captive in the hunting cabin by the man that abducted her that night outside the funeral home. 
> 
> Beth's first person POV.

**Chapter 8: Maybe tomorrow**

  
The days would pass and it was the same ritual. He would come into my bedroom and continued to believe that I was his dead wife. I threw fake smiles at him and he would put his disgusting hands on me like blood-sucking leeches.

I would only sleep one hour or two at the time. A very light sleep, I would wake up in a start at every noise outside the bedroom. Or I was awakened shacking and sweating by nightmares filled with his tong and his hands on my body. But in my misfortune I was lucky I guess, he never tried to do more to me. For now at least. One night he came in and laid in bed behind me, spooning me. I felt him hard on my back. Rubbing against me. Putting his hands under my shirt, on my bare sink, on my breast. I couldn’t stand it, his touch was repulsive and every inch he was touching felt stained and rotten. I pushed him away as I could with my elbows. He jumped out of bed and called me an ungrateful bitch. He shook me by the shoulders. I started crying and apologized to him. It was mostly tears of fear and exhaustion. I had no idea how long I could keep up with that game. All I wanted was to see him die, to kill him and look at his eyes while I would cut his throat or rip his heart out with my bare hands.

Sometimes I would also dream of Daryl. He was here with me. He had found me. He would stick his knife in my torturer. That dream was the worst of all because after he killed him, Daryl would look at me with the same dark eyes as my kidnaper and tell me “You’re gonna rot in hell for what you did”.

Every time he would leave my room at night the rage was growing bigger inside me. I think it was on the seventh day when he finally agreed to free me from the ties that bounded my wrists. But he still double locked the bedroom. The only window in there was barricaded from the outside. During the day, when he was gone to get some food I tried to force the door and window, without success.

My wounds were almost healed and my ankle practically didn’t make me suffer when I was putting the foot on the floor. It was a mistake to run anyway, I wouldn’t have been able to go very far at the moment. I still needed to gain strength, to be strong enough to fight him.

He might have been older, older than Daryl or Rick, he was strong. Too strong for me to do anything against him without any weapons.

After a week, I think I managed to convince him that I had become truly docile.

“You are cooking everyday for me.” I told with the sweetest smile I could offer him. “I’d like to cook for you again.”

I understood that Helena was quite the cliché housewife, or at least it’s what he wanted to believe. At some point I wasn’t even sure _Helena_ ever existed.

“You’re not strong enough my love. I don’t want you out of this room. You’re safer here.”

“You’re right. But you are here, with me, you can protect me. Why don’t I come to have a proper diner with you at the table?”

He gave me a suspicious look at first. Every time it happened I was terrified all my efforts would be wiped away because I was pushing this too far. I’ve never been very manipulative it wasn’t in my bones. But I was amazed how desperate this man was to get his old life back and how much he would believe my lies. He was weak. He was a mad man. And that was my greatest advantage but I wasn’t sure how much I could push him in that direction before he would snap again and become violent.

“Maybe tomorrow.” He finally said while strapping my ankle with a new bandage made of torn rags.

It was a small victory that got cut short with a repugnant kiss.

The morning after he gave me some canned food for breakfast, sat next to me and touched a lock of my hair while I was eating it. When I was finished he got out of the room and for the first time he didn’t lock the door.

I stayed on the bed looking at the door in surprise. My whole body started shaking. I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t stop thinking. I needed a plan. I could escape right now. I just needed to wait for him to leave. It felt like hours before I could hear him leaving the cabin and start the car. I waited again for several minutes to make sure he was really gone and I got out of the bedroom. I hesitated before stepping a foot outside on the main room. For so long I longed for this moment, being able to step outside. And now I was petrified.

I calmly observed what the other room looked like, as I didn’t really have the time when he dragged me in. There was a small kitchen opened to the living room. I noticed a table, three chairs and some kind of bed made out of blankets right on the left of my bedroom’s door. He must have slept here every night. Listening to me cry and scream in my dreams.  
  
I finally ran to the cabin’s door, it was locked with a chain outside I could see it by the broken glass. I opened it so easily I had a brief wryly laugh thinking how stupid he was to imagine that this would prevent me to leave. Or for walkers to come in for that matter… It was kind of a miracle we hadn’t been attacked yet. Tied to my bed, I would probably never have survived and I pictured myself dying there, my insides being eaten by walkers while I was screaming. I wiped that though out of my mind quickly.

The cabin was deep into the woods. I had no idea which direction to go. Or how long he would be gone. I looked at the tracks the car left behind. The car. I needed the car to go back to the funeral home and find Daryl. I wasn’t thinking straight. Deep down maybe I knew it was a hopeless plan, I would never know how to go back to the funeral home. But the though of finding Daryl, going back to him, feeling safe again with him, was the only thing that kept me from ending my own life in there. That and murdering the son of a bitch that was holding me captive. I needed the car and to kill him.

I went back into the house and immediately scouted the only cabinet in the room and the kitchen drawers to look for a weapon. All I could find were small kitchen knifes. Obviously he didn’t leave his weapons in the cabin while he was gone.

It’ll have to do. I went back in the bedroom and hide one knife under the dusty pillow and another one under the mattress at the end of the bed. I also put a third one in my boot.

I sat on the bed for a while thinking about my plan. It was far from being perfect. But it was enough to keep me going. Now he had to come back so I could finish this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok we might be close to finally learning what happened... Let's hope Beth's escape will work as she planed.
> 
> Thank you to my amazing proofreader Celesseh for her editing on this chapter! You're a life saver <3


	9. Come to bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth's plan is coming to motion...

**Chapter 9: Come to bed**

I heard the door opening behind me, boots stepping in and stopping immediately. I remained calm, took a deep breath and turned to face him with a welcoming smile.

“Hello there! I was setting up a nice dinner for us.”

I paused to study how he would react. He dropped his bag in a loud thud and kept his rifle in his hand.

“I… There’s not much here to cook you anything really. But… We can eat here tonight.” I paused again showing the table. He wasn’t moving. “Please honey?”

He came closer to me and I took a step back fearing he would throw me back in my room or hit me. He circled my waist with one arm, pushed me against him and put a wet kiss on my cheek. The smell of his sweat was strong and acidic. I brushed his cheek softly while smiling at him.

He sat at the table and started to tell me about his day, how he had to put down walkers around some cars so he could take the fuel. He found more food that we could eat tonight. And he was generally complaining about this world. I was listening carefully, nodding like a good wife and giving shy smiles when he was looking at me too long.

I sat with him at the table I had set up for both of us earlier. My palms were resting flat on the table, sweating and hot. I could feel the knife on my boot like it was the most sensitive part of my body.

When he finished eating, he pushed himself away from the table and looked at me with a stupidly happy smile on his face. I almost pitied him for feeling happy with this lie we were living. He had no idea what I was planning against him.

He patted his lap: “Come sit here.”

I didn’t hesitate and stepped to him to sit on his lap. He removed my hair from my neck and started kissing it, licking it. My breath was heavy and fast. I was genuinely scared but I was hoping he was mistaking that with pleasure. His hands were all over my chest on my shirt and when one of them grabbed the side of my ass I jumped a little and tensed in surprised.

“What? You don’t like that?”

“No... I… I do. It’s not comfortable here. Come to bed.”

I got up and faced him. I stretched out my hands to him so he could take them and I led him to the bedroom. I sat on the bed and he started to open his belt. Panic rose inside me. My heart was racing and I could feel it throbbing in all my veins. I couldn’t do it. It was crazy. It would never work.   
I closed my eyes a few seconds and the first thing that popped to my mind was Daryl. The night I told him he was going to be the last man standing. I didn’t want him to be the last man standing. He deserved better. I wanted to be the last woman standing next to him.

When I opened my eyes, he was already leaning on me, forcing me on my back on the bed. I pulled myself up to rest my head on the pillow. His hand reached the belt of my jeans and he opened it.

I could feel his warm breath on my neck; it smelled like the tuna we just ate. It was repulsive. After removing my pants he softly push both his hands on my thighs so he could open my legs widely.

I had to wait for him to let all his guards down. To completely lose himself. When I felt him searching clumsily to get inside me, I put my hand under the pillow and grabbed the kitchen knife. I hold his head with my left hand and I stabbed him in the throat with all the strength I had in my arm. It was easier that I would have imagine, the small knife got through his jugular like butter, almost disappearing in his flesh. Blood splattered all over my face. It was hot and sticky. I was seeing red, red everywhere.

His body dropped on the ground next to the bed. I put my jeans back on quickly and I took the other knife from under the mattress and placed myself above him. His eyes were open, his body was jerking and I think he was still alive when the knife entered into his eyes. And stabbed him again letting a scream out. A scream I didn’t recognized, it was mixed with fear and anger. Maybe a bit of relieved too but I wasn’t ready to feel that when I was actually taking someone’s life. As bad as this person might be I could never convince myself I was doing the right thing.

I stopped and left myself fell miserably next to him. My whole clothes were soggy, covered in blood. Human blood. My heart was pounding in my chest; I felt it was going to explode. I caught my breath for a few minutes but quickly got back to my feet and went to the other room. I took his bag, his rifle, the remaining food and water supplies. I went outside and got in the car. The keys were still in it.

I drove as fast as I could. I didn’t think of the direction I was taking. It didn’t matter; all I wanted was to put as much space as possible from what I just did.

After a while the car started coughing and it stopped. I turned if off and I stayed there holding the wheel. I saw his face looking right through me. I saw the pain and desperation in his eyes when I put the knife in his skull to end his life. It just felt it wasn’t me there. It felt like it was someone else’s memory. I wasn’t capable of that. It wasn’t me who did this. The tears started to flow out of my eyes for the first time that day and I cried. I screamed. I hit the wheel. All the terror was coming out. After a few moments, it changed into a simple sobbing of exhaustion. When my body felt like it finally ran down of tears and panic I took my bag and rifle and got out of the car to sink into the darkness of the woods.

*******

After a terrible night filled with nightmares and barely any sleep I realized I was completely alone. The adrenaline rush and the constant fear in my stomach were actually distracting me from feeling my own loneliness. I woke up that morning and heard nothing but the silence of the woods. Leaves shivering in the wind, a few birds singing in the distance and the noise of my breath. Nothing more. That was it. I was alone.

I started to feel cold, winter was slowly creeping by and I needed new clothes. My yellow polo shirt was now an ugly brown and I really wanted to get rid of it. I collected my stuff and started walking.

I walked all day long. My ankle was feeling fine and I was relieved I was able to run if needed. I came across cabins and warehouses but nothing really caught my interest. I grabbed a blanket, cut out holes for my arms and used it as a poncho, remembering Daryl’s own poncho back at the prison. It was smelly but it was warmer.

After a few days I came across a hunting cabin. The door was locked which was a good sign because it meant other people might not have emptied it.

I broke a window by throwing a rock at it and waited, imitating Daryl’s method. I heard a weak grunt inside and recognized the familiar moan. One walker came at the window and I couldn’t hold back a jump. I stuck my knife in its skull and gave it a few more minutes. Me, myself and I had all the time in the world after all.

When it seemed safe to go, I climbed into the window. That’s the cabin where I found my crossbow and a whole lot of hunting weapons. My rifle was empty, I used it to kill walkers a few days ago- and I have to admit I wasn’t good at it. It took all the ammo I had to put down two walkers. It made me furious at myself.  
I left the rifle behind and took the crossbow, three hunting knives and a leg strap that I strapped up on my thigh.

I also found a few pieces of clothing, all were too big for me. But one tee shirt wasn’t actually too bad and I was so eager to change clothes it didn’t matter anyway. I looked at the walker on the ground. He had a hunting jacket was would be much warmer and practical than my poncho. I felt a little bit disgusted by the thought of having to touch him to remove it from its back. But it needed to be done.

I started removing my own clothes and shivered a little when I tossed on the side my stained polo shirt. I wasn’t sure whether it was the cold or the thought of finally getting rid of his dry blood. I quickly got dressed with my new shirt and jacket. I probably looked kinda ridiculous, but I tucked the shirt into my pants and rolled up the sleeves of the jacket so it would fit me.

I continued searching for useful items in the cabin that I could take. Not too much of them because my backpack was already pretty heavy and I didn’t want it to slow me if I needed to run.

I trained a few hours that day with the crossbow to get used to it. Loading the arrows was the most difficult part for me. At first I just stared at the crossbow, clueless. I had to manipulate it for a while before even being able to actually load a bolt.

The first time I killed a walker with the crossbow- on the first try- felt like a huge victory. I realized how low my expectations were now… I smiled weakly to myself and my loneliness struck me deep in the chest like it did sometimes.

I set up some traps and even caught rabbits and a squirrel with my bow. I was hungry but it wasn’t that bad. I felt like I never actually stopped being hungry ever since we left our farm last year. Or was it two years ago? My notion of time was really challenged with all that happened.

I found the train tracks and the Terminus signs after a few weeks. I wasn’t sure what to do. I had no idea where to go and I was pretty sure this would be some kind of trap or the place would be probably long gone. My gut told me it wasn’t too good. But my heart was in another place. Maybe Daryl had seen the sign? Maybe Maggie and Rick too? I had nowhere else to go. I might be able to track or hunt now, but looking for directions or properly reading a map was not on my skills set. In the end I followed the tracks, why not after all? I didn’t have to go into Terminus when I would arrive. I could just observe from the outside, to look for my family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright Beth's now free! Let's come back to the present day in the next chapter (and less dark stuff!).  
> I hope you liked this one. I hope this will give you some hints on why Beth's changed and became stronger and more distant. But being back with her family might give her her hope and happiness back. She's tough. And even tougher now.  
> Let's see how Maggie and Daryl will react to the story...


	10. You were right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth has shared the story of her abduction with her sister and Daryl. How will they react?

**Chapter 10: You were right**

"That's how I found Carol, Tyreese and Judith. They were also following the tracks. I think it was one of the most beautiful day of my life." Beth looked behind her at Carol and her beautiful angel Judith.

"This little girl is the ultimate survivor." She felt warm. A sense of happiness she hadn't experienced in a while. Not the same as when she reunited with Judith or her sister, or even Daryl. Just a calm and warm feeling of accomplishment. Like saying all of this out loud had made it go away and now she could focus on the present.

Her smile was disrupted when she noticed Maggie's silent tears. She was looking down to the floor, couldn't face her baby sister. She had so much despair and anger in her eyes.

Her happy feeling was melting away, Beth felt responsible. Maybe she shouldn't have told them the whole story. But once she started talking she wasn't able to stop. The flow of words was coming out and the weight in her chest along with it. She hadn't realized how important sharing this would be for her.

She went to hug her sister and held her as strongly as she could. She took Maggie's face in her hands and planted her eyes on her. "I'm okay now Maggie. None of this matters now. We are together. You and me. I am okay." She tried to keep her voice steady with her most convincing smile and Maggie hugged her back.

When she turned to Daryl, he was planting his knife in the floor again and again. She could feel he was tense and hurting.

Rick approached quietly and asked if he could replace one of them. Maggie stood up and thanked him while gazing at Beth one last time. She went to cuddle up next to Glenn.

Daryl broke his silence and asked Beth for the lock's key. "Need some air." His tone was irritated. Beth gave him the key and he stomped outside.

When Beth started following him, Rick stopped her.

"Are you sure you don't wanna leave him alone right now?"

"No. He needs to know it's not his fault."

Rick just nodded. Ironically, it was quite a beautiful night. The sky was clear, it was warm and a pleasant breeze was cooling off Beth's skin. The moonlight was bright enough for her to spot Daryl pacing around in the grass.

"Daryl…"

" _Don't_."

He kept pacing around, clearly trying to calm down or find something to punch or kill. She needed to choose her words carefully. Talking to Daryl has never been easy and she's guessing right now would be one of those times where she needed his full attention.

"You can't do that to me." At least it caught Daryl's attention as he stopped walking and he turned to look at her. "You can't get mad at me."

"I ain't mad at you! What you sayin'?" He jerked his arm around, looking at her with hard and fierce eyes. But she knew those eyes didn't mean he was angry with her, he was angry with himself. She held his stare, not defying him; she was calm and not looking for a confrontation at all.

"I know I should've been more careful when I got to the road. I should've hid and wait for you. But I..."

"You don't get it do you? All this wasn't your fault dammit! _I_ should have found you. _I_ should have killed the motherfucka. Not you. You shoulda have not…" He paused for a second and turned his eyes from her, facing the warehouse's wall, his teeth clenched together "…done that."

He punched the brick wall with his fist so violently Beth jumped in surprise and let a gasp escape her. He held his bloody knuckles cursing to himself.

"Daryl Dixon! Stop that _now_!"

She tried not to scream too loud but he caught her by surprise.

"Are you stupid? You wanna hurt yourself?" She ran at him, took his bloody hand in hers and squeezed it softly.

"Don't move." She ordered and went back inside.

Daryl leaned his back on the wall he had punched and slid to the ground. He wanted to hurt something. Kill something. He knew no other way to repress the rage building up within him. It was already a miracle he had been able to listen to her whole story. At one point he just wanted to get outside and run away.

Beth came back with a bottle of water and a piece of fabric. She kneeled next to him and poured water on the cloth to clean his hand gently. She seemed concentrated, almost peaceful. Her blonde locks were spread all over her shoulders; they seemed to have grown longer and her silly braid was still there in the mess of blonde hair. He looked down at her lashes beating regularly while she applied herself to cleaning his wounds.

"You're not responsible for what happened Daryl. I'm grateful you're here with me."

"Should have been here sooner." His ton was calmer now. Looking at her so close to him and the touch of her skin on his; he had forgot the ability of her presence to make him feel at ease so quickly.

"You can't do anything about it now. It's over. And… it made me stronger. I survived in the end. I'm still here. And I owe that to you."

"You don't owe me nothin'."

"Yes I do. You taught me everything. And I'm not talking about tracking or using a weapon. You taught me to be focused. Determined to survive."

"I ain't the one that taught you courage. You're tougher than you think."

She tied the cloth around his knuckles and sat next to him. Daryl's unharmed hand was resting on the side of his thigh and he felt the gentle brush of the back of her hand when she sat down. It was so subtle he was half sure he had imagined it. He couldn't look at her right now, not after the way he had lost his temper. He just stretched his little finger to make sure her hand was there, close to his, to feel another touch of it, seeking for more proximity with her. When she felt it Beth slipped her hand in his and interlocked their fingers in a gentle squeeze. He stayed stiff for a few second before finally returning her squeeze. They had touched, they had held each other a few times. But this, now, for the first time since they were reunited, he felt a strange intimacy settling in. He wasn't quite sure what it was and he was certainly not used to it. But it felt good.

"You were right." He murmured this so softly she almost didn't hear him.

She turned her head, looking over at him, brows furrowed.

"I missed ya."

He was giving her the same intense look he had that day in the funeral home, right before the attack. He was staring at her in admiration and something else entirely she wasn't sure she understood.

Beth rested her head on his shoulder. She hadn't felt that relaxed and safe in months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> N/A: Some well deserved sweet moment between Daryl and Beth. Let see how this will lead them...
> 
> Thanks you for reading guys, hope you liked this chapter! Feel free to leave me comments I really fuel on them ;) And a big thanks to Celesseh my fantastic proofreader!


	11. Labels

**Chapter 11: Labels**

They’ve been at the warehouse for over a week now. They went back to get the car and parked it behind the warehouse with Tyreese’s truck to make sure it wasn’t too noticeable. It had been decided they would head to Washington. Bringing Eugene there was probably worth a shot after all. Most of them were rather skeptical about the strange man and his proclaimed ability to find a cure. But that was a goal, a purpose, something to look for and keep going. Staying in the woods, even finding a new home wasn’t something they were looking forward to anymore, not after the fall of the prison. They were ready to move on from Georgia and try and find out if Washington was still standing.

They would stay at the warehouse a few more days since it was secure and it would give them the time to gather supplies and more cars to transport everyone.

Their life was getting more comfortable every day. They raided daily the closest towns and brought back mattresses, blankets, food and every day supplies. They didn’t exactly feel at home, but none of them were ready to settle so easily anyway.

Since Daryl’s outburst a few of days ago and the comforting moment they shared, Beth and Daryl have been sleeping next to each other almost every night. The first time she had slid next to him he became stiff, he felt her warm body too close to his and it was making him uncomfortable, not sure about moving or even breathing. After a few minutes he ended up relaxing, feeling his muscles losing the constant tension they seemed to have every time she was too close to him. He had never slept that well since it all started. Ever since he would let her lay next to him and sometimes during her sleep her hand would find his forearm or his hand and he could feel the soft touch of her skin on his. 

The group was getting ready to go out for a run. Daryl, Sasha, Tyreese and Michonne were packing up weapons, water and bags in the car. 

Beth had happily taken over her role as Judith’s keeper. Although she knew she could do more now, she preferred a little bit of quiet time and not being constantly on guard for her life. Carl was helping her a lot with Judith, giving her time to go out to hunt and bring back some food for the group. She was also taking him out so he could show her how to set up snares. They were quite a good team and Beth enjoyed how cheerful Carl could get sometimes. He was a tough kid now, and had seen too much horror for his age but had still managed to keep some of his childhood innocence.

She was giving Judith a bottle, sitting on the floor when Rick came closer and kneeled next to her. He carefully stroked Judith’s forehead with his thumb and she stopped drinking, giggling while reaching for her dad’s fingers. Rick seemed much more at peace over the last few days than he was when Beth got reunited with the group.

“You did a great job securing this place Beth. We’re all grateful we found you." 

“Thank you. We shouldn’t get too comfortable though. You never know what can happen.”

She had become more of a pessimist now. Although, she didn’t see that as a bad thing. She wasn’t naive anymore and she knew she could handle more. Sometimes she wished she’d been more like that back at the prison. Maybe she could have done something to help when the Governor attacked them.

“And we’re going to leave anyway.” She concluded.

“We’re more prepared for attacks you know. I think we’re experienced with that type of situation.” Admitted Rick in a bitter smile.

“Honestly I wish we weren’t…” The thought actually made her sad. “You know I observed you a lot at the prison. I learnt from you. How to make a place safe. You have a lot to do with that. And I’ve also learnt from Daryl- more than he would admit.”

Rick took a deep breath and looked at Hershel’s daughter with a concentrated gaze.

“I wanted to thank you Beth. For taking care of Judith since she was born. I know… I know your father is gone. He was a great man. I don’t wanna replace him. I can never, no one can replace him. But I’d be happy if you allow me to call you my own. ‘cause we’re a family. There’s no need to put on any labels on us, who we are for each other. But I’d be honored if you let me consider you like a daughter. Like Judith. You’ve been more than a sister to her. It’s a beautiful thing what you’ve done for my family.”

Beth’s heart was pounding in her chest. She knew the relation her daddy had with Rick and she did cherish Judith like her own. Hearing about her father was still hurting her more that she had wished. She never really had the time to mourn him and those words meant more than Rick could imagine.

She nodded at him and a wide smile formed on her lips. “Yes. I’d like that.”

She handed Judith to his father and they played a little while with the baby girl. It was a peaceful moment, one they deserved to have after everything.

“And… How would you consider Daryl?”

“I thought we didn’t need to put on labels?” Beth mimicking his words somehow sarcastically.

Rick smirked at her “Smart one.”

“Daryl saved me. Kept me safe. Taught me I wasn’t fragile. I owe him who I am today. That’s all I know.”

“Then he’s like a brother.”

She shook her head and put on a weak amused smile.

“I had a brother. Brothers don’t look at you that way.”

So she wasn’t oblivious like Rick had imagined.

“What are you gonna do?”

She was touched he cared so much about her. But for now her relationship with Daryl, whatever was going on between them, was their business only. She smiled at Rick with a reassuring gaze, stood up and retrieved her crossbow to go out for a walk.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments and kudos! And a huge thanks to my amazing proofreader Celesseh for her editing on the chapter.
> 
> I think some Rick/Beth moment was overdue. Beth's always been taking care of Judith and she's Hershel's daughter after all. I'm sure Rick cares deeply about her and I hope to see some of that when they get reunited in the show. In the meantime that's how i'd love to see their relationship evolved :)
> 
> I know the chapter is short, next one will also be a short one and I will post it very soon. After that there will be a long chapter I promise, but it will also be the last! We actually are close to the ending of the story... Although I already have scripted the sequel, on a slightly different ton.


	12. You will someday

**Chapter 12: You will someday**

It was still early in the morning. Maggie and Beth were going through their supplies making an inventory, what they would keep for the road to Washington, what they can eat and use now.

“Add batteries on the list, we barely have any… And, I think we’re good.”

Beth stood up and waved the list to her sister “I’m gonna go give that to Daryl.”

She walked outside to the cars they were loading up for today’s run. Daryl just finished cleaning the windshield when she held out the list.

“Here. It’s a list of stuff we need.”

He took the list from Beth’s hand with a grunt and a nod. She smiled back and was already starting to return inside to her sister when Daryl’s voice stopped her.

“Wanna tag along today?”

She turned to him with a small but happy grin on her face.

“I guess yeah. I mean plenty of people can take care of Judith here. Let me check with Rick.”

Carol closed the trunk after finishing putting some supplies in for their day out and came closer to put her hand on Beth’s shoulder. “You go honey. I’ll take care of Judy today.”

“Alright. Thanks. I’ll get my things and let Maggie know.”

Daryl kept watching Beth as she went inside the warehouse. He wasn’t exactly sure why he asked her to come along today. They hadn’t spent a lot of time together since they got reunited. Big group, lots of folks. Daryl was never very comfortable around so many people and he was starting to miss the days when it was just the two of them.

Once Beth was out of his sight, his eyes turned to Carol. She was looking at him with a slightly curious smile. All the staring might have been a bit too obvious. And everyone probably noticed he and Beth had been sleeping next to each other, a bit too close for that matter. People are always so intrusive he was surprised no one had asked questions yet. Not that he would answer, his relationship with Beth was none of their damn business. Plus he wouldn’t probably know what to say. He had no idea at that point what their relationship was. He was pretty aware he cared deeply about her. Probably more than he should. Every time those feeling hit him, when their eyes met, when he felt her touch, he wasn’t sure he was allowed to think of her that way.

“I don’t need to tell you to be careful out there?”

He shook his head at Carol. She put her hand on his forearm and her face suddenly took a serious expression.

“And I especially don’t need to tell you to take good care of her?”

Daryl wasn’t exactly sure she was talking about today’s run. This sounded much more like a motherly warning to him. And it was annoying him because all the subtext in this sentence wasn’t exactly subtle. He wasn’t stupid and got what she implied but he would have wanted her to tell him what she exactly meant straight to his face.

“You don’t.”

“Good. Be safe.”

Daryl was driving the car, while Beth was sitting in the passenger sit. Michonne, Glenn and Tyreese were traveling in the other car. There had apparently been a silent agreement to let them ride together. Daryl was both grateful and a bit irritated about it. Was it so obvious something was going on there?

They haven’t been sharing a word yet. Beth was looking outside the window, the forest of Georgia passing before her eyes. She felt really peaceful at that moment in the comfort of the car seat and listing to the soothing sound of the car engine. She wasn’t too worried about their trip to Washington but wondered if she’d miss the woods of Georgia, it felt like her home nowadays.

She broke the silence. “What do you think we’ll find in Washington?”

“We’ll have to get there first. S’a long trip. And there’s a lot of people in our group now. S’not gonna be a walk in the park.”

“I know that.” She paused still caught in her thoughts, looking out the window. “I hope we’ll find a safe place. I hope we’ll be able to settle there and finally catch a break. For good.” She giggled softly. “Stupid isn’t it?”

He turned his head to watch her. Her big blue eyes were filled with hope and it was such a warming sensation. He hasn’t seen so much of that since they got back together. Her gaze was usually harder and sometimes even blank, as if she were drifting away in painful memories. He tried not to think about all she’s been through and why her look has changed so drastically. No matter what she says, not matter how much she had tried to make him understand it wasn’t his fault, the feeling of guilt never quite left his stomach and it probably will always be there deep down.

Daryl turned back his face to the road and she kept examining him. The way he was touching the hair on his chin, almost too delicately for a man with that temper. She remembered their conversation at the moonshine cabin. How he opened up to her. How comforting it was for her also. She remembered the way he looked at her from the casket when she was singing. She remembered every detail of their time together after the prison. How she felt safe when he was around her. How she liked to look at the reaction in his eyes when she was sharing something important with him. The sensation of his arms lifting her from the ground and carrying her around. The roughness of his fingers when their hands were locked to each other. The heat that filled her whole body every time she felt his touch.

Beth had never been thinking about Daryl that way, not before they ran together, not when they were drinking moonshine. Not even when she was singing to him. She realized that after his interrupted confession at the kitchen table. All she could say then was “Oh.” Because she didn’t know those feeling were here, hidden inside her, under thick layers of pain, fear and hope. And when he was no longer with her, when she was gone, she missed him every day, every second.

“Daryl… what did you mean back in the kitchen? Before we were attacked.”

His body tensed up a bit and his hands firmly closed on the wheel.

“You never answered me.”

It took him a few seconds to mouth a soft and barely audible “You know”.

She had a weak chuckle.

“No I really don’t. I mean. I think I do. I’m not blind. I… I just need you to say it. I want to hear you say it.”

Daryl was moving uneasily behind the wheel. He wasn’t saying anything, letting the awkward silence stretch out in the car. He wasn’t sure what to answer her because he still didn’t know exactly what he felt. Or, it’s probably more accurate to say he didn’t want to admit it to himself just yet. But above all he just couldn’t get the words out. For so many years he was told never to show his feelings, he saw it as a weakness. He was not supposed to care so much, to get close to people like he did with Beth, with the rest of the prison group. Her eyes were locked on him and the smile on her face was gone. She was longing for him to tell her and it was physically impossible for him. It just wouldn’t get out.

“Daryl… please.”

“You.” He started quietly. “You made me change my mind. You had hope. I thought it was pointless at the time. Thought you were just naive. But I realized you were actually right.”

“Why?”

His throat tightened and he was having a hard time swallowing. His inability of sharing anything with anyone was hurting him more badly than ever. And Beth’s words were aching like a knife in his chest. He had no idea how this girl managed to make him feel so exposed. So vulnerable.

“I can’t say those words Beth. Y’know I can’t.”

“You will someday. You will.”

She turned back her head to the window leaving Daryl in the agony of wanting to tell her he loved her like he never loved anyone in his life. That he would give anything, his own life, to keep her safe and alive. He was completely sure about this now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter before the end. These two are getting closer together...
> 
> Thanks for your feedback and to my great proofreader!


	13. Sayin' goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter of this story! Rick and Maggie have a little talk and Bet hand Daryl might get into trouble during a hunt in the woods...

**Chapter 13: Sayin' goodbye**

Rick looked at Beth and Daryl getting ready to go out for a hunting day. Daryl had been keeping busy those last couple of days, making new arrows for Beth's crossbow and they were testing if they fitted correctly. It was their last day in this makeshift home. Tomorrow they would head to Washington for good. Everything was mostly packed and Daryl thought it would be good to catch some game to have fresh food for their first few days on the road.

It was also an excuse to spend some time with Beth alone. They both knew that it was unlikely to happen anytime soon after they hit the road.

Maggie was loading some bags in the cars. It was early but the sun was already burning. Everyone else was still inside having breakfast or finishing packing up.

Rick reached out to Maggie. He had his serious face on.

"I want to talk to you about Beth and Daryl."

Maggie remained quiet. She wasn't expecting that talk. But it made sense. She was the older sister and with her daddy gone, Rick was probably the only person she would accept to discuss the matter.

"Do you know what's going on?"

"I don't. But I'm not blind. I guess you aren't either."

"She's… very young Maggie."

"Not anymore."

"Oh, come on. How can you be so relaxed about this? Ain't you scared?"

"Of what? Of him willing to risk his life for her? Of him wanting to protect her? And of her being happy? She's not the Beth we used to know. She's not the little sister I grew up with when we were at the farm. Most of the time her eyes are cold, unwelcoming. But when she looks at him… That glow, that sparkle in her eye from before is there. It's weak, but it's still there. Let me tell you something, all I want for her are two things, to be safe and happy. Both of those things are something Daryl seems to be able to give it to her. So no, I'm not gonna do anything. I'm gonna let my little sister who stopped being little the moment that bastard abducted her, be happy. And safe."

"But she's still a girl. And he's… Do you think it's proper?"

"Proper? What's proper nowadays? Rapists? Cannibals? Does it matter anymore? There's no law, no police, there's just survival. And finding a glimpse of happiness and hope in everything we can. Without Glenn I probably wouldn't have made it. It's the people we care about and hang on to that are our best chance at surviving. We're alive because we protect each other."

Rick's head was lowered; his two hands on his hips, as if his eyes were searching for an answer on the floor. He was carefully absorbing what Maggie was telling him.

"You have your daughter and son. She has me and Daryl. "

Rick agreed with her. But he needed to question her to make sure Maggie was okay with this. He had no right to interfere in Daryl's life choices. And he wasn't planning to. But they were going to go for a long trip together and the group needed to trust each other. Family issues would not be easy to handle on the road.

"You're right."

Maggie actually looked surprised. "Why'd you ask me then?"

Rick nodded at her, "Just checking everything's alright between everyone."

Daryl was leaning on the doorframe and watching them in the distance; he knew they were talking about him. He couldn't hear the conversation but the way Rick glanced at him while going back inside was a little bit too obvious.

Daryl snapped at Rick jerking his chin to him. "You got somethin' you need to tell me?"

"No, brother. Nothing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure. I trust you. You have my trust and everyone's trust. Just wanted to make sure of that."

Rick's cryptic statement made Daryl frown just as Beth's finally got out of the warehouse. Rick tapped her shoulder "Be safe out there. Both of you."

She smiled at him and looked at Daryl.

"Took you long enough. Let's go Greene."

*****

Beth had become a fairly good hunter and crossbow shooter. They caught a few games already but it was still early and they were not ready to head back home yet. It felt good to be outside, together, with only the noise of the forest around them. They were reconnecting, trying to get back this feeling from the days they had together on the roads. A feeling of belonging to something, to someone. Being codependent in this world was not a bad thing anymore.

Daryl spotted a snake in the mess of the mud close to a frail river.

"No way! Don't even think about it. I can't eat snake anymore."

Daryl looked amused.

"Mud snake kept you alive back then y'know."

"Yeah and I'd rather starve than taste it again. It's so gross."

Daryl smirk got bigger remembering how picky she was when she was eating it.

"You always ate it with your pinkie up there, like a fuckin' Disney princess." He was mimicking the gesture pulling a face to mock her.

"Shut up!"

Beth broke into laughter and hit his shoulder gently with her fist. They were exiting the woods and reaching a road when the familiar moan of walkers cut her laughter right away.

But it was too late; the dead already heard them and were coming towards them, all arms out to reach for a taste of their flesh. Beth and Daryl ran back to the forest, but the damn walkers were following them closely. The woods were thick in this area and it wasn't easy to run fast.

Beth shouted at Daryl "We can't bring them to the warehouse! We have to kill them!"

Daryl seemed to acknowledge her statement when he stopped immediately and stuck a knife in the head of first walker in sight.

Beth shot her two first bolts, aiming perfectly both time. The third one got into the jaw of the walker, already at arm's length and she didn't have enough time to reload an arrow. She tossed her crossbow to the side and pulled out her knife from its thigh strap while stepping back. Her foot caught in some roots and she lost her balance, falling on her back. The walker jumped at her and she was crushed by its weight. He was fat and heavy; she managed to put her knife through his skull but was trapped under the dead man's weight. Another walker came at her too fast and fell on top of the other, crawling to get her. She was stuck and started screaming for help at Daryl who was still fighting the remaining walkers a few yards away.

She couldn't move and could feel the disgusting breath of the dead man puffing at her neck and his teeth snapping to bite a piece of her skin, when suddenly he stopped moving and she felt sticky blood dripping onto her neck. Her breathing cut off; the weight on her breast too heavy. Daryl pulled out the knife from the walker on top and pushed him to the side with his feet. He finally pushed the other dead body with her help. When she was free, Beth crawled backwards with her elbows and leaned on a tree.

Daryl rushed to her side. He took her face between his two hands carefully, barely brushing her skin.

"Y'ok? A-are you hurt? Did you get bit? Beth, did you get bit?!"

She was still in shock and trying to catch her breath. He started examining every inch of her exposed skin rapidly and nervously until she pushed him away with her two hands on his chest.

"Stop! I'm okay! Let me- Let me breathe!"

He looked around to make sure no other walkers were coming at them. There were just dead bodies on the floor and the silence of the woods surrounding them.

Beth had her hand on her chest, still trying to regulate her breath. Daryl kneeled in front of her. "Never do that to me again."

"What?! Shut up! I fought them back. It's not on me!" She was upset, shaking, still feeling the terror of facing her death.

"Told me you could take care of yourself once..."

She stopped breathing for a second, remembering her own words back when they were surviving together.

"And you can. You're one hell of a girl Greene."

She was starting to calm down, her cheeks had taken a pink flush and her eyes were resting on him; she wasn't able to look anywhere else. He couldn't stop looking either, the adrenaline rush from the attack had made him even more aware of her big blue eyes, of her slightly opened mouth trying to catch air. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And he didn't understand how he had possibly missed that before. He used to see her as some girl who needed protection and nothing more. But now, she had turned his world upside down. Making him better, stronger as he learned to care and let people in.

He didn't realize he had slowly leaned in to her, almost closing the space between them. His right hand was helping him getting steady on the floor while the other one was resting in his own knee, getting sweaty once he realized how close he was from her. Beth's lips parted, he could see the pink tip of her tongue darting out and brushing her lips.

After a few seconds of a steady stare, Beth pushed herself to press her lips on his. Daryl didn't move, not sure what to do, not knowing how to respond. But he was diving into the moment like drowning in dark warm water. Their lips pressed to each other gently at first but the kiss quickly became pressing, desperate.

Beth wrapped her arms around his neck and she pulled him closer to her. Daryl's restraint was slowly slipping away and he opened his mouth to fill hers with his warmth. His hand moved and was now gripping her hip a little bit too strongly and she moaned in his mouth at the touch, making Daryl's whole body shiver at the sound. She arched her back pressing her body against his as much as she could, moving up one hand to thrust it into his hair. For a few minutes the world around them wasn't there anymore. All that mattered was their heat mixing together.

Daryl finally broke their embrace and Beth gasped as she lost the warmth of his mouth. Her breathing was heavy and his pulse was racing so fast he could feel the flow of blood pumping in every vein. He looked at her lips; they were pink and all swollen up by the searing sensation of their kiss. He gently brushed her bottom lip with his thumb and Beth closed her eyes to absorb the sensation of his touch.

She leaned her forehead on his and they both steadied their breath for a few seconds before Daryl stood up, letting Beth's arms fall from his neck to her sides. He offered his hand to help her get up and without leaving the grip she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head between his neck and shoulder. Daryl just put his hands on her elbows, responding to the embrace.

She was not ready to let him go just yet. She was still reeling from the shock of the attack and the surprise of this kiss. She knew Daryl had cared about her and she did want to kiss him and feel him close to her but she actually never imagined he would respond to her so fully. She still wasn't sure what to think and didn't really want to give it too much thought right now. She didn't know if it was the beginning of something or just finally putting an end to this tension between them. But it felt good. It felt beyond good, she never really felt anything like this with anyone.

They held on for a few more minutes and finally broke apart to collect their weapons and start walking towards the warehouse next to each other in silence. They both never felt so at peace with someone. The silence was comfortable; the memory of the kiss floating around them and the happiness to be alive and together was all they cared about in this moment.

*****

The next morning everything was ready. They had Tyreese's truck, a people carrier that easily fitted 7 persons and a car with a small trailer attached to it carrying most of the supplies. All the space was used in each of the vehicles; the trip was going to be very uncomfortable and probably much longer than what it should have been before the apocalypse.

Beth finished helping the rest of the group packing up and she could hear everyone discussing which car they wanted to ride. She looked at the warehouse, the damaged red-bricked walls, the hefty metal door and the woodland behind it. It was goodbye. A goodbye to Georgia, a goodbye to her life before the world turned to hell and a goodbye to all the pain she suffered after the fall of the prison.

She sighed deeply, feeling the weight taking off her chest being replaced by the anxiety of a dangerous trip to a destination they didn't even know to be safe. But she also felt hope. She had her family on her side. She had Judith. She had Daryl. They could now protect each other and each and every one of them was ready to give their life for the other.

"Are you okay?"

Maggie was standing close to Beth. She brushed her little sister's arm with the back of her hand.

"Yeah. Just sayin' goodbye."

"We're gonna be okay Beth."

"I know."

Beth smiled at her sincerely. Yes, they were going to be okay.

TO BE CONTINUED...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go, this is the end! I hope you enjoyed this last chapter. It's probably the one that was the hardest to write for me. I wanted Rick and Maggie to have this conversation til the very start of the story. And I tried to be as IC as I could for this one, because I think it's very important. And also action scene. Arrrg it has almost been the death of me. Anyway I hope it doesn't suck too much. And the kiss, yeah, well here you go :) Hope it's up to your expectations!
> 
> As I mentioned previously, this is just the first part of a longer story. I'm currently writing a sequel, it might take me a few days, maybe a week to finish the first chapter. I'm planing on writing longer chapters (probably 2K+) as I realized that's what I prefer as a reader.
> 
> Thank you all for your support, your reviews and favorites. It's really important to me :D And last but not least a very big thank you to my awesome proofreader! Without her this action scene would have been dreadful! You're awesome Nia!


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